Strategies to impact your well-being: Week #4
— published: 05-12-2011
Three weeks ago we started a four-week series on strategies for processing emotion. This week we highlight one last pair of positive (“savoring”) and negative (“dampening”) strategies. Although the research study being featured focused on the positive impact these strategies can have on individual outcomes, it seems they also could be used within families and units to promote positive and happy individuals and interactions.
Savoring (Positive) Strategy #7: “Positive Mental Time Travel”
“Positive mental time travel” is what happens when an individual vividly remembers a positive event (or vividly anticipates a future positive event), such as a wedding or a reunion after deployment. Individuals who are able to remember past positive events (or look forward to future ones) and savor those happy moments are more likely to be happy in general.
Dampening (Negative) Strategy #8: “Negative Mental Time Travel”
“Negative mental time travel” takes place when an individual reminisces about a positive event but with an emphasis on negative explanations. For example, if an individual finishes a 1.5-mile run in the lead but thinks that they finished first because everyone else in their group was slow, then they individual is engaging in negative mental time travel. It can happen, too, when a person thinks their happy feelings from an event won’t last because they aren’t that lucky. Negative mental time traveling is associated with lower self-esteem and more depressive symptoms.
So take a moment to remember a positive event from the past and savor those moments (without negative mental time traveling). Does it make your current mood better to remember the positive event? Additionally, you can savor those moments with your parents, your children, your spouse, or your friends and colleagues. See if savoring enhances the mood of the person you are talking to, as well.
Check back next week, when we’ll take one last look at all eight strategies for well-being and examine how they all work together.
